


Home with You

by smittenstylinson



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: A bit of swearing?, A tarzan AU, Friends to Lovers, Harry as tarzan, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Work In Progress, and ao3 intimidates me so, doesn't really focus on them but more on harry's issue??, harry gets lost in the jungle when hes little!! twenty years later hes still alive!, he can speak gorilla??, he's got more friends but like, liam and zayn are his best friends, louis helps harry so much!, louis is an artist like painter and photographer, meets louis!!, no smut sorry im not good at it, pls be kind, they don't realize they like each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-09-01 07:33:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16760749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smittenstylinson/pseuds/smittenstylinson
Summary: Harry watched Louis and listened carefully, eyes widening when he recognized a word, "man," he spoke, "Harry man," he nodded. He remembered how his father would always call him 'the man of the family' since he'd be the one to really tie them together at the end of the day. He always found his father silly for calling him a man when he was only a boy, but now he only yearned for hearing those words from his father again."Yes Harry, you're a man," Louis responded in a sarcastic tone. He then noticed the look on Harry's face, it only gave him an unsettling feeling in his stomach. "Harry, you do know you're a man right?" He asked slowly, "you're not a gorilla, you understand that, don't you?"Harry then furrowed his brows, "gorilla?" He asked, looking up at Louis.-Tarzan AU, Harry has known of nothing but life in the jungle for the last 20 years of his life, until Louis tries to help change that.





	1. Chapter 1

Harry Styles. Second child of Anne and Desmond Styles, a pair of the greatest explorers of the century.

Anne and Des have traveled far and wide for thirty-some years together. They've been to every continent, almost every country, more than once.

Gemma, his sister, and Harry were home schooled. Their parents decided to do so, so their education could not interfere with their explorations. They all loved traveling, they'd hop on a plane and head to any country the moment they're able to.

The years passed and Harry was now eight years old. The boy loved exploring as much as his parents did, ever since he was able to crawl. Gemma preferred photography, the twelve year old was rather fond of taking the photos instead of posing for them.

They were all on their way to Africa, Rwanda to be exact. The jungle, in all the years they've traveled there, they have not seen much of its wildlife. No matter how hard they've tried to discover the silverback gorillas, they haven't seen any nor have they seen any other large animals roaming around in the Albertine Rift montane forest.

Harry, he was an excited lad, his parents had gone over all the kinds of animals they might encounter when on their miraculous journey through the jungle. He had studied over his little notes on the plane ride before he took a nap, as well as after waking up. Just to be sure he knew what to look for, of course.

They landed in Rwanda and were driven to the jungle, where the family of four would be staying for a week in hopes of finding new wildlife.

It takes the Styles an hour to set their things out and prepare their tents. They had tables and books stacked up, ready to be looked through for when they find any kind of amphibian or new plants and their main goal, the silver back mountain gorillas.

When everything is where they want it to be, they grab a few necessities and their cameras before deciding to start roaming the jungle. Things were well, they were aware of their surrounding and went around for two days without any trouble. Today would be like any other. Desmond in front with Gemma and her camera in hand, Anne tracking their way so they don't forget where their base is, and Harry following right behind.

Or so they thought.

Harry, the boy had spotted a bird, one he remembered from the books he and Gemma studied. He wanted to get Gemma's attention but the bird was getting away. He didn't think he'd get too far so he started following after it, taking a turn away from his family in his attempt.

His eyes were wide in awe, the wingspan of the bird wasn't like any bird he had seen before. If Gemma took a picture of it, she'd claim Harry was one of the best animal seekers around. She just needed to see it, the beautiful bird he couldn't stop following.

He tried keeping his eyes on it, the eight year old found it rather difficult when the sun was blocked by clouds. He lost track of the bird, giving up when he couldn't even hear it's squawking.

He looked around and realized his mistake. The one rule his father would never let them forget.

Never wander off on your own.

_Never wander off on your own. Never wander off on your own. Never wander off on your own._

The words replayed in the boy's mind like a broken record. He didn't know which way he had come from, he didn't know which way to go next.

Every tree looked like the last, he felt like he was going in circles. Harry was scared, he didn't know which way to turn to head off to base. He didn't have anything with him, he never did unless he wanted to take a picture of something.

He was lost, the boy didn't realize with every turn he had been heading out deeper and deeper into the jungle. The distance between him and his family was growing large. He called for his sister, he called for his mum, for his dad, but it was no use. He never once got a response. He didn't know how long he'd been running, but he knew it was getting dark soon.

He had to work on his feet and try to remember his survival skills. Harry looked around, finding himself standing at the foot of a mountain, the top was unable to be seen from the clouds up above. He walked around, finding a small opening, just big enough for him to crawl in for the night. He pulled at some large leaves from the trees, trying to cover the hole enough to keep him hidden from any animals.

Animals, like the mountain gorillas, who were just meters away from his hole. Harry was unaware of them, unaware of everything but the fact that he was lost. He couldn't hear anything but his own thoughts, overwhelming himself to the point of tears, to the point of heart wrenching sobs. Cries that could've been heard by anyone near enough.

Harry cried and cried until he couldn't cry anymore, he was exhausted, his eyes were burning. He didn't know what to do, it was dark but still, he wanted to give a few more calls to his parents and Gemma before he went to sleep.

So he tried looking through the leaves he had shielded the cave with and stepped out of them. When he heard a gorilla roar, it stopped him in his tracks. He turned his head and choked on his own breath once he saw the large creature just a few steps away.

His parents taught him to stay still in the presence of one, in the unlikely circumstances they ever come across one. He did just that, staying as still and as quiet as best as he could. It was like the gorilla knew something was off with Harry, because she reached out for him but didn't touch him, sensing his distress.

After a moment, she pulled back and continued walking, though looking back at the boy as if she was expecting him to follow. Harry was terrified, but also curious, so he carefully followed after the large animal.

He was lead to their nesting areas, gasping at the sight of at least twenty gorillas in sight. When he reached the whole group of gorillas, he stood behind the one he was following. She snarled and let out a few more noises which caused the other gorillas to turn away from her.

He felt a connection between them from that point on, as if she could take care of him until he found his family.

He had no idea that his family was tearing their campsite apart in frustration and fear. They lost their son, their brother, their baby boy.

They searched for hours, Desmond having to hold Anne back from running out into the jungle to search for Harry. They decided as a family it'd be safer to go around in the morning, each one of them hoping and praying for the best, for Harry to be safe and sound somewhere in the jungle.

Harry followed the gorilla, sitting down by her, but still keeping a distance from her and especially from the other gorillas. He was slowly falling asleep while leaning against a tree, snoring quietly.

He slept for hours, waking up to the sunlight on his face. He didn't see many of the gorillas around, so he got up and slowly walked away from them. He didn't realize he was being followed by the same gorilla from the night before.

He walked around trying to find his parents and food, walking around until it got dark. Then the gorilla would snort to catch Harry's attention, guiding him back to the nesting areas.

It became a routine, she'd wait for Harry to wake up, follow him around, then take him back to sleep. This went on for about six months, though Harry lost track of time by then.

He did, however, eventually find the campsite, he could recognize it because he saw the chalk marks on the bark. His mother used to mark the trees like that. But his stomach churned, the campsite was empty, there wasn't a sign of another human.

They left him, they're gone and Harry felt like crying all over again, he lost his family. He could feel the gorilla's presence behind him, but ignored her when he felt tears forming and quickly wiped them away as he turned to her.

From that moment on Harry stayed right by her side, knowing the others didn't think he belonged but he didn't care. He knew she wasn't like the others, she would bring him food to eat, she watched over Harry as he tried to climb the trees along with all of the younger gorillas.

Years had passed and he had finally gotten the hang of climbing, even learning how to swing from the vines up above, finding it much more efficient than walking everywhere.

The other gorillas still didn't think he belonged, but his mother, or the gorilla he saw as such at that point, would take care of him no matter what.

Harry was now twenty eight, but he didn't know that. He completely lost track of time from how long he was out there. His hair was down to his shoulders by now and he knew his way all around the jungle now. He knew what was meant to be there and what was not.


	2. Chapter 2

It was Louis' dream, to travel around the world. To explore the different places and admire nature's natural beauty. He adored the shades from the plain solid colored houses, to the delicate patterns on insects. The elegance of the flowers that would grow in his late mothers's garden when he was younger were his favorite.

At twenty two, he had been accepted into The Arts Institute of London, where he had first planned to get a degree in Visual Designs. He finished a full year, but he didn't feel the joy he was expecting. He felt like his art wasn't going to get any better through the classes he was taking.

So he dropped out, just like that. It was a sudden, but a certain decision. He packed his bags and decided to travel around the world instead. He'd been traveling for years, going out in the world for inspiration and drawing whatever he pleased.

It was a simple concept. Louis would travel around the world, then book art shows in the London museum, where he had become a local favorite to purchase paintings from.

He had asked his friends to tag along in his travels, they've joined him for six of the seven years he'd been doing so. Liam and Zayn were his closest friends, they'd both go on every expedition they could go with Louis, like his current journey.

The man was now twenty nine, he had made enough money in his last couple of art shows to fly out again. He had been planning this one for years, he'd always wanted to visit the African jungles. Louis and the two had flown out, the artist was determined to find animals to photograph and then paint when he gets home.

They had been walking for a while, he was advised to keep a look out for large animals that could be roaming around, for safety reasons. Louis soon found a nice little, cleared out spot where they could set up their things. He sat on a large rock and put his camera down so he would be able to unpack his things easily.

It didn't take the three long to set everything out, with their team efforts, the tent was up and filled within two hours.

Louis was excited, he had never been to the jungle, he had already taken a few pictures as they walked around, but the view he had of a patch of flowers growing in the distance was remarkable from his seat. He blindly reached for his camera, having a sudden moment of panic when he felt nothing under his hand.

"Guys, have either of you taken my camera?" Louis then asked Zayn and Liam, looking around the rock in case it might've fallen off when he wasn't looking, but he saw nothing.

"Not me, Lou," Liam called back as he walked out of the tent. "I didn't take it, didn't you just have it?" Zayn asked from behind Liam.

"I set it down right here, I swear I did," Louis huffed as he looked around, "I can't lose it, it's got everything," he groaned, parading around their little campsite. He was freaking out, "this isn't funny, quit joking around and give it to me," he then glared at the pair.

It was hot, they'd been walking around for hours, Louis was grumpy, all he wanted to do was take a few pictures before having something to eat. But he clearly couldn't do any of that until he found his camera, which was still nowhere to be seen.

"I'm serious Louis," Zayn spoke again, "we wouldn't hide it from you, honest." The couple looked between each other, as if silently asking one another about the camera.

Louis groaned louder, tugging at his hair in frustration, it couldn't have just disappeared. "This can't be happening, I set it down right there," he pointed to the same empty rock from earlier, "this whole damn trip would be pointless without it!"

The three all looked around, trying not to make a mess while they searched. Louis stepped away from the tent, trying to see if the camera had somehow rolled away from them.

It seemed ridiculous, but he was growing desperate, he needed the camera. He moved the bushes around slowly, hearing more rustling around him. He stopped his movements when he saw an unfamiliar figure in front of him.

Whoever the man with long, curly hair was, he had Louis' camera in his hands.

Louis and the man had a stare-off for what seemed like hours. Neither of them knew what to do, until the bare man stretched his arms out with the camera still in his hands.

Louis watched the man, suddenly jumping back in fear when all he was doing was returning the camera to him. Out of instinct, Louis grabs his switch blade and flips it open, holding it out towards the stranger.

"Stay back, I'm warning you, I'm not afraid to use this," Louis threatened, but even he was doubtful on the count of how shaky his hand was.

Though the man, as large as he was, didn't notice the fear or the tone of voice Louis had. He saw something shiny, something that looked familiar to him, even if he couldn't exactly remember the name for it.

So, believing it would help him remember the name of the object, the man simply reached out and tapped his finger to the tip of the blade. He out an animal-like grunt when it dug itself into his skin, immediately pulling his finger back.

"Shit, why did you do that?" Louis asked in exasperation, still in the same position until he realized the man was now bleeding, "fuck, alright, I'll get you a band-aid and then you tell me you're name and why you're naked, deal?"

The man stared at Louis, his finger already in his mouth to clean it, seeing as that's how he always tended to his wounds. It was a miracle to have never been drastically injured while out here, just some minor cuts and bruises that always healed.

"Right, great chat," Louis mumbled and then grabbed his camera, quickly inspecting it for any damage while he walked back to the campsite, hearing the rustling of the bushes behind him while the strange man followed after him.

It didn't take long for the pair to reach the campsite together. Louis was about to set his camera back down but quickly changed his mind and decided on attaching it's strap and hanging it around his neck for the time being. Just for precautions, of course, the last thing he wanted was for it to disappear again.

"Where did Liam leave that first aid kit..." he mumbled to himself as he began looking through the supplies, having not noticed the naked man was still following closely.

Louis grinned when he found the white box and then grabbed one of the smaller band-aids, unwrapping it and holding it out. "Come here, stick your finger out, yeah?" He told the man, giving it a minute until he realized the man wasn't listening to him.

"Hey, I said come here," he called and then boldly stepped closer to the man, reaching for his finger and wrapping the band-aid over the finger he had pricked earlier.

The man stared at Louis curiously before he looked down at his finger, experimentally bending it to see if he could in fact keep moving the digit around even with the band-aid.

"So," Louis started after a moment of watching the man, he didn't understand why the man was here, let alone why he was in the nude. "Any chance of you giving me your name?"

The man looked back at Louis, "Harry," he said simply before he sat on the same rock Louis had sat on earlier, still inspecting his finger.

Louis lit up in surprise, the bare man spoke English which definitely felt like a good sign, "Harry? Alright Harry, I've got another fun question for you. Why on earth are you bloody naked?"

Harry seemed to have completely ignored the next question, because all he had said was the same word as before, "Harry," he nodded, showing the man he still knew his name.

"Yes, yes, you're Harry, I'm Louis," Louis quickly added and waved his hand around, "what are you doing here?"

"Harry," was once again repeated, only this time Harry was standing up and walking towards Louis. He was standing close, far too close for Louis' comfort. "Lou...ee," the man said slowly and then grinned, staring at Louis intently.

"Alright, back up mate," Louis chuckled nervously as he stepped back and away from Harry, "I guess you don't want to share much and that's fine with me, but that doesn't mean you're welcome here," he then said and raised an eyebrow at Harry.

He was trying to show dominance, to show he was tough and not scared shitless, but Harry wasn't paying any attention to Louis anymore. The bare man's eyes had landed on Louis' sketchbook, the one where Louis had drawn concept art of his paintings.

Harry walked over and then picked up the book, causing Louis to have quite the fit. Louis wasn't much of a fan of people seeing his work before it was completed, much less a stranger he had just met an hour ago.

"Leave that alone. Hey give it back, will you?" Louis huffed out and then walked over hurriedly, but Harry was faster.

The taller man rushed to the other side of the campsite and watched Louis before he sat down and then properly began flipping through the pages.

Louis sighed heavily and then walked over to Harry, "I don't like people looking at my work, you're lucky there's nothing much in that," he told the man stubbornly while sitting next to him.

"Lou- _ee_ ," the man then gasped, stopping on the page where there was a page full of sketches of silverback gorillas. He leaned in closer to get a better look at the gorillas and then smiled at the drawings. "Harry," he repeated and quickly pointed to the sketches. He was convinced one of the gorillas on the page was his mother, the gorilla that had raised him for so many years. Harry wanted to tell Louis it was his mother, but in his excitement, all he could do was repeatedly tap the sketch.

Louis furrowed his brows in confusion, "what is it? That's a gorilla mate, there should be loads of them here," he explained, "have you see one? Did they steal your clothes?" He asked in amusement.

"Harry, Louis, _Harry_ ," the man emphasized while pressing his finger to the drawing, fully convinced it was his mother gorilla, and he intended to prove it to Louis.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry kept the book open to the page where the gorillas were while looking up at the man, he didn't understand why Louis didn't realize he had drawn an exact spitting image of his mother gorilla.

Louis just watched Harry, as confused as ever. Why would Harry be so interested in the gorillas? It wasn't even his best drawings in the sketchbook, in his own opinion.

Harry let out a huff and then stood up, Louis standing up as well. If Louis didn't understand by being shown the drawing, then perhaps he'd understand if he saw his mother for himself. "Louis, Harry," he said to the man before glancing back at the sketchbook for a second. He then nodded, as if he was assuring himself of his own assumptions, before he started walking away from the campsite.

"Woah, hey," Louis called while he followed after Harry, "hey, where are you going? Don't take my book with you," he huffed, being mindful of where he stepped while still keeping a distance between him and the odd man.

Harry kept looking back to Louis, making sure he was being followed while he easily navigated himself through the many vines and branches in his way.

He lead Louis to the spot he had last seen his mother, happy to see that she was still there before he turned to Louis. "Harry!" He started again, holding the book up in Louis' face, though Louis looked just about pale in the face.

Louis had never seen a gorilla in person, minus the ones in the city zoo, which he doesn't really count anyways. What he didn't expect was to hear a loud snarl coming from a distance. "What the fuck was that?" He asked Harry worriedly, his eyes widening when he saw a larger gorilla. It had to be a male, the alpha for sure, charging towards him while baring his sharp teeth.

Louis was certain this was it, this was how it was all going to end. Death by gorilla while a naked man holds his sketchbook, that'd be a crazy story for Liam and Zayn to tell in the future.

He was already seeing his life flashing before his eyes when he heard another snarl, this one was much closer. It took him a moment to realize the second snarl had come from Harry, the man had positioned himself in front of him, shielding him from the male gorilla.

Harry grunted and puffed his chest out, making himself look bigger even if he knew he would be no match for the alpha of the group. He huffed and let out a few more snarls and snorts, communicating with him in an attempt to convince him to leave them be. He tried telling him that Louis meant no harm to them.

It took a while before the alpha was letting out a frustrated huff, snorting in warning towards Harry and his mother before he turned around and walked away.

Harry finally let go of the breath he had held in, his chest deflating while he stood back up on his feet, looking up at Louis for a moment. He then grabbed the sketchbook again, brushing the twigs and dirt off of the pages as he held it up.

He was so eager to show Louis the portrait he had of his mother, he was certain Louis would want to meet her.

"Harry," Louis called out after recollecting himself, feeling at a loss for breath after what he had witnessed. "How did you know they were here? How the hell did you know how to get him away from me? Do you even speak gorilla?" He asked all at once.

Harry didn't answer a single question, he only stared at Louis as he babbled in and on before he walked over to his mother, sitting down next to her.

Louis looked at Harry in awe, the man was either remarkably brave, or incredibly stupid. No genius would ever casually walk over and sit down next to a gorilla the way he saw Harry just do.

"Louis," Harry spoke up as he looked at the drawing, his eyes going back and forth between the drawing and his mother.

Louis looked around, as if he was looking for the alpha before he slowly began walking over to Harry. His heart was pounding, he didn't think he'd get too close but Harry had other ideas.

Harry grabbed onto Louis' shirt and tugged him down rather roughly, enough for Louis to let out a groan when he dropped to the ground. "Harry," he simply told Louis as he traced over the drawing's cheeks, then he looked up and traced over his mother's cheek.

Louis was amazed, it was as of the gorilla was trained, maybe Harry was a trainer and this was a whole new method of training that people were trying. "How are they not attacking you?" He asked curiously.

"Harry...Harry," Harry nodded, tracing over the drawing's lips before doing the same with his mother.

"They do look similar, don't they?" Louis then commented while he watched Harry, his heart was still racing, he was ready to jump up and make a run for it if he needed to.

Harry was too into the drawing to respond, he didn't even notice his mother was raising her hand up while she looked between him and Louis.

She leaned over and then brushed a finger against Harry's cheek, which the man leaned into without any hesitation. She then looked at Louis and then reached over to caress his cheek as well, Louis having let out a very manly little whimper when she did so.

She then caressed her cheek, feeling quite a difference, it was obvious to her that Louis was what Harry was, not a gorilla, but something else. The two were the same and she felt no danger, Harry trusted this creature so she would too.

Louis looked back to Harry after a few minutes, the lack of explanation from the man only brought him more confusion. "Harry," he called out, waiting for Harry to look up, "Harry, I don't get this... why are you here?"

Harry stared at Louis with his bottom lip jutted out, he could hear the man and he knew he was asked a question, which meant Louis was expecting an answer. He opened his mouth slightly while he thought, "Harry..here," he explained and motioned around the jungle, "Harry here," he repeated and nodded.

"Yes Harry, you're here, I figured that," Louis nodded, "but why? Are you a zoologist?" He asked the man curiously, only continuing when Harry didn't respond, "do you work for National Geographic, then? Or is this just for fun?"

"Harry, here," Harry repeated once more and then huffed softly before he moved in closer to his mother, resting his hands on his mother's arms. The sketchbook now settled in his lap, still on the same page the gorillas were drawn. "Harry just here," he continued and gave Louis a little shrug. He knew what had happened to him, if he remembered how to tell Louis, of course he'd mention it all to him in a heartbeat.

Louis sighed quietly before nodding, "right, okay but what about your home?" He asked, causing Harry to look back up at him.

Home. Harry knew what that was. He wanted to go home, he wants to go back to London. As much as he owed it to his gorilla mother for saving and caring for him, he missed his family, his true family. He missed his mum's cooking and his father's stories. He even missed Gemma's name calling. He missed it all and he'd do anything to have that all back, if he could only say it.

"Ho-home," Harry repeated slowly, "Harry home," he nodded, frowning while his fingers combed into his mother's arm hairs.

"Yeah? Where is it then?" Louis asked softly, daring to lean in closer to Harry. Something just felt so off about all of this and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. Harry has a British accent, he could hear it in his pronunciations, but the man was either extremely secretive or he truly was at a loss.

"Harry..home..."

Louis thought for a moment, "come on then, you've got the accent, you're a Brit, aren't you?"

Harry frowned while looking at Louis, tilting his head to the side.

"No? You're American? Canadian? African?" Louis then asked, wanting to get some kind of answer. "What kind of man doesn't know where he's from? Listen mate, this is getting a little ridiculous, don't you think? What's your deal? You're a crazy man if you think I'm supposed to find this all to be normal," he scoffed out.

Harry watched Louis and listened carefully, eyes widening when he recognized a word, "man," he started, "Harry man," he nodded, "man," he murmured. He remembered how his father would always call him 'the man of the family' since he'd be the one to really tie them together at the end of the day. He always found his father silly for calling him a man when he was only a boy, but now he only yearned for hearing those words from his father again.

"Yes Harry, you're a man," Louis responded in a sarcastic tone. He then noticed the look on Harry's face, it only gave him an unsettling feeling in his stomach. "Harry, you do know you're a man, right?" He asked slowly, "you're not a gorilla, you understand that, don't you?"

Harry then furrowed his brows, "go...gorilla?" He asked, looking up at Louis.

"Gorilla? What do you mean gorilla, the big ape you're sitting next to is a gorilla," Louis told Harry and raised an eyebrow at the man. Louis was shocked, all this time the man was so close to a gorilla, to the point where he was nearly sitting in one's lap, and he didn't even know what they're called. "Harry, what on earth are you trying to pull here?" He asked him, "don't play games with me, where do you live? Where's your home? Is it here? No? Quit joking around mate, this isn't funny," he continued, growing a little worried the more he tried getting answers.

"Harry home," Harry repeated, "Harry home...no here," he continued slowly, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. He heard a few words he recognized, easy ones he just never forgot about. "Harry live...no," he shook his head.

"What do you mean? You don't have a home? You live here because you're homeless?" Louis asked him, his tone gentler than before.

"Gorilla..Harry, no," Harry tried explaining, "Harry man? No gorilla," he continued, "home no here, home...no know?" He said in a questioning tone, hoping Louis would understand him.

Louis listened carefully, the accent was clear as day, he was no American nor Canadian. "British, look mate, you've got the accent, you've got to be from the UK for sure," he nodded, "okay, you know you're not a gorilla, and you don't have a home. Unless you do? And it's not here? So you live in the UK?" He asked.

"No know," Harry explained and shook his head, "no..." he paused to think for a few minutes, "no...remember?" He tried, the word just coming naturally to him.

Louis then suddenly understood, well for the most part. All he knew was that Harry knew he didn't live here, and that the man doesn't remember where he lives. "I can help you figure this out okay?" He told the man and gave him a small smile, "don't worry, I'll help you remember. Just...just keep trying to talk, yeah? Go on, give me more information about yourself."

"Harry home here no, Louis," Harry explained in a slow pace, trying to get used to speaking up again after so long. It was hard, even before he met Louis all he'd ever say was his name, never wanting to forget it. He had forgotten how well he was able to speak before, he was always a quick learner but this was something different. He knew how to talk, he just needed to remember.

"Right," Louis nodded, "so let's see, you're here, in the jungle, alone. You've clearly grown a bond with these gorillas, or at least this one in particular," he continued, "you don't look like you're struggling for food," he added, his eyes lingering on Harry's long, toned torso for a little more than necessary, but Harry didn't care.

"Food?" Harry asked curiously, "Harry food?" he added, the term sounded familiar, he took a moment to ponder it over before he grinned, "like food," he nodded, setting the sketchbook down on the ground before he stood up. He looked around and then stepped towards a tree, climbing it before he plucked a couple of mangoes off of their stems. He normally let the fruit fall, knowing neither he nor his mother cared about it getting bruised, but he wanted to impress Louis with nice looking food.

Louis watched Harry in awe and then bit his lip roughly once the man climbed back down from the tree with what looked like fruit larger than he had ever seen. "What is that?" he asked him, leaning in a bit closer to get a better look.

Harry handed a mango to his mother, who let out a little grunt in gratitude before she began tearing it open. "Food," he said simply, his thumbs digging into the fruit before he began peeling the skin back, having used the same method as his mother. "Good, Louis," he smiled, taking a bite out of the fruit as if making his point before he held the fruit out to Louis.

"Oh?" Louis asked and watched Harry as he reached for the fruit. He stared at the fruit in his hand before he took a bite out of it. It was bitter at first, but overall it was the sweetest mango he had ever had in his life. "It is amazing," he hummed out, licking at his lips before he took another generous bite.

Harry smiled brightly after he realized Louis enjoyed the fruit, "food ah-macing," he repeated to the best of his abilities before he stood and climbed to get a few more mangoes to enjoy together. "Louis home?" he then asked slowly.

Louis nodded, "yeah, my home is in London," he explained, "well, not really in London, a few towns away from the big city, but I'm there almost all the time anyways," he chuckled.

"Home...Louis remember?" Harry asked him and then sat closer to Louis. "No go home?"

"No, I remember where my home is, I know exactly where I live," Louis nodded, cleaning his own mouth before he continued eating. It had been a long trip, this was really his first meal since they got to the jungle.

Harry watched Louis and nodded, "Louis remember, Harry no..." he trailed off and then looked around the nesting area, the other gorillas all settling in to go to bed, seeing as it was already getting dark. "Harry home here," he continued.

Louis listened to Harry and then nodded slowly, figuring it was Harry's home since he was so comfortable around the gorillas. "How did you adjust to this lifestyle? Was it easy?" he asked gently, noticing the other gorillas all coming together.

"Was...no easy?" Harry said carefully, frowning in thought, "no easy, was...was hard," he nodded, tossing his mango pit out of the nesting area as he was finished with the fruit, Louis doing the same with his own.

"I could only imagine," Louis nodded and then brushed some dirt off of his thighs, "I should be getting back, before it gets too late," he added, standing up, "they'll be worried about me, think I've gone missing."

Harry then stood up and grabbed at Louis' wrist, almost in a panic, "no missing, with Harry," he said to him, "Louis with Harry home," he continued, "no missing, missing no," he added.

"Hey," Louis began and furrowed his brows, "hey, Harry, mate I'm not missing. I know that," he assured him, "but it's getting dark, if I go any later it could be dangerous," he explained, "can you let me go? Please?" he asked, motioning towards the wrist Harry refused to let go of.

"No go, Louis," Harry said to Louis, "please, no go, no missing with Harry, no d-danger-rous with Harry," he said slowly, hoping the man understood he felt Louis would be safer if he stayed the night with him and his mother.

Louis frowned, watching how frantic Harry had gotten, "alright, Harry, okay," he spoke after a moment in thought; it'd be safer to please the stranger that could hurt him if he went against him rather than risk his life trying to go out there on his own. "I'll stay the night, with you, okay? Tomorrow morning, you can help me go back to the campsite, please?"

Harry listened carefully and then smiled with a nod, letting go of Louis' wrist. He then grabbed the sketchbook and gave it back to Louis, he didn't need it anymore. "Louis stay with Harry," he nodded while he started preparing his spot to sleep with his mother's help. He made sure she was settled in first before he sat himself down, looking up at Louis expectantly.

Louis took a minute to react, but soon enough he does get closer, deciding to sleep next to Harry for the night, feeling safer next to another human for the time being. "Goodnight, Harry," he said softly, trying to get comfortable in the pile of leaves Harry usually sleeps in.

"Good...goodnight, Louis," Harry responded carefully and then smiled, remembering the phrase from when his mother would tuck him in every night.

Louis gave Harry a soft smile and then closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep as soon as possible to avoid the fact that he was actually sleeping in a gorilla nesting spot with a naked man. He did manage to fall asleep, waking up just around seven in the morning the next day by Harry shaking his arm.

"Louis," Harry called out, still shaking Louis' arm, "Louis, go."

"Go where?" Louis groaned out, opening his eyes to see Harry above him.

"Go, Louis," Harry repeated as he stood up, tugging on Louis' wrist to have him do the same. "Go with Harry," he smiled, not noticing how Louis wanted to pull his hand away.

"Alright mate," Louis chuckled and got up, "let go of me, Harry, I'll go with you, don't worry," he told Harry and gave the man a soft grin.

Harry let go of Louis and smiled at him and his mother before he began walking away from the nesting area, turning back to make sure Louis was following him.

Louis walked after Harry, assuming the man was going to lead him back to the campsite, but Harry had other ideas. Harry was leading him away from the campsite, "Hey, Harry," he began, growing a nervous feeling in his stomach, "Harry, isn't the campsite the other way?" He asked him, watching every step and turn they took.

"Harry know," The man simply nodded in response, continuing to make his way through the jungle, "Louis go with Harry," he grinned, looking back at Louis every so often as he walked along ahead of him.

Louis didn't like this, he wanted to turn back, to run away from Harry and find his way back on his own to the best of his abilities. Though he carried on, trying to be brave by following after Harry. He was soon stopped in his tracks by Harry holding a hand out to block him from passing, "what is it?"

Harry grinned widely, "is good," he assured the confused looking man, pulling back some branches to reveal a slow moving river, the water crystal clear enough to see the ground below.

Louis' eyes widened at the sight of beauty in front of them, feeling ridiculous for thinking Harry was going to harm him. "Wow," he breathed, walking towards the river and crouching by the edge, dipping his hand into the water, "it's amazing, Harry," he told him, looking up just as Harry had dove into the water.

Harry swam underwater for a moment before he rose up to the surface, fixing his hair out of his face, "Louis! Louis with Harry!" He called out, inviting Louis into the water.

"Seriously?" Louis asked, "you want me, to join you?" He felt silly, but at the same time, he knew a dip in clean water wouldn't hurt. After all, he could use the refreshment. "Alright mate, give me a second," he said, shaking his head while he stood up, undoing his shirt and pants, chucking them both off along with his shoes and socks, keeping his boxers on before he jumped into the water.

Harry splashed the water around him in celebration when Louis jumped in, smiling wider as he waited for the man to resurface.

Louis rose up from the water and rubbed the dirt off of his face, catching his breath, "it's a lot colder than I was expecting," he laughed, swimming towards Harry after he cleared his face.

"Good?" Harry asked and looked back at Louis, smiling at the man when he swam close to him, "is good?"

"Definitely," Louis confirmed and smiled at Harry, "it's more than good, it's great," he added with a laugh.

Harry splashed the water around by Louis, which resulted in Louis splashing Harry back. It didn't take long for the two to begin splashing each other. Louis had a great time with Harry, he felt carefree, more than he had felt in weeks. They swam around in the river for what felt like an hour, Louis about to pull himself out of the water when he heard someone call his name.

"Did you call me?" He asked Harry, but Harry was blissfully swimming around Louis, having no reason to call to the man.

"Louis!" He heard again, this time Harry heard it, and he was preparing himself to protect Louis from whatever this was calling for him.

It wasn't long before a pair of legs were getting closer and called out, "Louis! Zayn! I've found Louis!" right as he stood by the end of the river.

"Louis!" Zayn called out once he was beside Liam, "who is that?" he then asked almost immediately as Harry looked just about ready to pounce out of the water and attack the two.

Louis looked beyond relieved to have been reunited with the two, he already was so excited about telling them how he met Harry and where he had spent the night and even about now. "this is Harry," he grinned, turning to Harry, "Harry, these are my friends, Liam and Zayn, they're good," he then said to Harry.

"No good," Harry said and shook his head, "dangerous and...no...no good," he told Louis skeptically.

"No, not dangerous," Louis said and then climbed out of the water to wrap an arm around both Liam's and Zayn's waists, standing in between the couple, "see? I'm okay because they're nice," he explained.

"Louis, what the hell did you get yourself into last night?" Liam asked while he kept his eyes on Harry, ready to defend himself if he needed to.

"I wouldn't even think you'd believe me if I told you," Louis laughed and shook his head, smiling when Harry climbed out of the river to get a closer look at the new people.

"Oh god, why is he naked?" Zayn asked in surprise, still wary of this strange man.

They looked different to Harry, one of them had a beard that was long and the other had his hair shaven off the sides. "Friends?" he asked Louis, looking back at him for clarification since the word sounded familiar.

"Friends, you know, the people you like to be with," Louis explained, keeping his arms around their waists, "nice people, good people," he added, which Harry then seemed to have understood.

Harry remembered what friends were, he didn't have many growing up, the baby gorillas were much too young and the gorillas his age were already dangerous to be around so he was usually alone with his gorilla mother. "No friends Harry," he commented and shook his head, he knew he didn't have friends before, he only ever hung out with Gemma since the two were home-schooled.

"Hey, I thought we were getting along, what do you suppose we are?" Louis then asked jokingly, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

Harry then realized what Louis said, "friend," he started, this was different than before. Louis could be his friend and he'd finally get the chance to say he has a friend and that was truly exciting to him. "Louis, Harry friend," he said, smiling widely at the man.


End file.
